Hong Kong Phooey was a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1974 (1974-09-07), to December 21, 1974 (1974-12-21). It was a parody of kung fu shows and movies of the time. The main character, Hong Kong Phooey himself, is the clownishly clumsy secret identity of Penrod "Penry" Pooch, working at a police station as a "mild-mannered" janitor under the glare of Sergeant Flint ("Sarge").

Penry disguises himself as Hong Kong Phooey by jumping into a filing cabinet despite always getting stuck – and unstuck by his striped cat Spot – and once disguised, gets equipped with the "Phooeymobile" vehicle that transforms itself into a boat, a plane, or a telephone booth depending on the circumstances by banging his gong or changes automatically whenever necessary.

He fights crime relying on his copy of The Hong Kong Book of Kung Fu,[1] a correspondence-course martial-arts instruction handbook. However, his successes are only either thanks to Spot, who provides a solution to the challenges, or the direct result of a comically unintended side effect of his conscious efforts. The humor of incompetence of the Hong Kong Phooey is a recurring theme of each episode, and is not unlike the recurring theme in Klondike Kat, whose successes are only thanks to unintended circumstances, not his own skills as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. The background was designed by Lorraine Andrina and Richard Khim.

Each episode begins with Rosemary, the telephone operator, getting a call (and routinely saying "Hallo, hallo, police headquarters, this is Rosemary, the lovely lassie with the classy chassis") and explaining the crime to Sergeant Flint. Penry, the janitor, overhears Rosemary and proceeds to transform himself into the crime-fighting canine (whom Rosemary has a crush on) by slipping behind the vending machine, then jumping into the bottom drawer of his filing cabinet, getting stuck, and, with help from Spot, coming out of the top drawer.

After sliding behind an ironing board to the floor below, he bounces off an old sofa, through an open window, into a dumpster outside, and emerges in the Phooeymobile. Even when he crashes into, harms, or otherwise inconveniences a civilian, the passer-by feels honored, as opposed to being annoyed or embarrassed, when they see who did it. One example was when he drove the Phooeymobile through wet cement, splattering the workers: they responded that it was an honor to have a whole day's work ruined by "the great Hong Kong Phooey."

Hong Kong Phooey was voiced by Scatman Crothers. Sergeant Flint was voiced by Joe E. Ross, best known as Officer Gunther Toody in the early '60s television series Car 54, Where Are You? As Flint, Ross revived Toody's famous "Ooh! Ooh!" exclamation.

The final episode, "Comedy Cowboys," was a backdoor pilot for a new series. In this two-part episode, several new cartoon characters (Honcho, The Mystery Maverick and Posse Impossible) appeared and helped to clear Hong Kong Phooey of a crime he did not commit. These characters later appeared in their own continuing segment, "Posse Impossible" on CB Bears. Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show used the limited Hanna-Barbera laugh track.

Grandma Goody (Cat Burglar): This time cats are being stolen all over town, including Spot — and Grandma Goody is not what she seems, as Hong Kong Phooey finds out in a bubble-filled climax.

Candle Power: Two villainous criminals force the city to use candles so that they can build their very own wax museum.

HKP-4

"The Penthouse Burglaries / Batty Bank Mob"

28 September 1974 (1974-09-28)

The Penthouse Burglaries: Phooey is called to investigate a number of robberies from penthouse apartments.

Batty Bank Mob: Phooey enlists the help of Spot and a friendly octopus to stop a bank robbery.

HKP-5

"The Voltage Villain / The Giggler"

5 October 1974 (1974-10-05)

The Voltage Villain: Phooey is called to investigate a villain who can control electrical appliances.

The Giggler: A crazed clown-like criminal uses laughing gas to rob the senses of the guests attending high-society parties of an important mayor and Phooey must defeat the deranged lunatic before everyone dies laughing.

HKP-6

"The Gumdrop Kid / Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician)"

12 October 1974 (1974-10-12)

The Gumdrop Kid: Phooey investigates a child-sized villain's plans to take over the town's sweet production.

Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician): Phooey is asked to track down a magician who disappeared from the police station.

HKP-7

"TV or Not TV / Stop Horsing Around"

19 October 1974 (1974-10-19)

TV or Not TV: Phooey attempts to sabotage plans by thieves to steal everyone's television sets.

Mr. Tornado: Phooey tracks down a super-villain who robs banks by using his tornado-strength lung power.

The Little Crook Who Wasn't There: Phooey is called to track down a criminal who can disappear without a trace.

HKP-15

"Dr. Disguiso / The Incredible Mr. Shrink"

14 December 1974 (1974-12-14)

Dr. Disguiso: A villainous master of disguise uses his skills for a number of bank robberies.

The Incredible Mr. Shrink: An evil businessman terrorizes the town into buying his umbrellas.

HKP-16

"Comedy Cowboys"

21 December 1974 (1974-12-21)

Tin Nose, a conniving cowboy of crime, frames Hong Kong Phooey for the theft of a rare map to The Lost Dutchman Mine from a museum. It's up to Honcho, The Mystery Maverick, and Posse Impossible to help corral Tin Nose and clear Hong Kong's name.

On August 15, 2006, Warner Home Video released the complete series on 2-disc DVD in Region 1. The DVD set includes commentary on select episodes as well as a documentary of the show from its development through its legacy. The set also includes production designs, never-before-seen original artwork, new interviews, and the special feature Hong Kong Phooey—The Batty Bank Gang: The Complete Storyboard. The series is also available in the UK as a Region 2 two-disc set, and as two separate volumes in Region 4. The shorts "Car Thieves" and "Zoo Story" were also released on a 1970s Saturday morning cartoon compilation.

With a copyright of 2001, Alan Lau in conjunction with Wildbrain.com produced a flash animation webshow cartoon that was prominently featured on CartoonNetwork.com, and could still be found there as of the middle of June 2015. While Penry appears identical to the original incarnation, Hong Kong Phooey is a much larger, cut, and highly competent and skilled fighter—even without Spot the cat. Hong Kong Phooey faces off against and easily defeats evil anthropomorphic animals: a trio of rabbits, what appears to be a crane, and a reptilianoid (that appears to be a Komodo dragon). At the end he morphs back to Penry with a smile and sparkle in his eye.

It was announced on August 10, 2011, that Eddie Murphy would be voicing Penry/Hong Kong Phooey in the film.[4] On December 28, 2012, test footage of the film was leaked, showing a computer generated character in live action scenery.[5]

The Moldy Peaches song "Nothing Came Out" mentions Hong Kong Phooey among other cartoons: "I want you to watch cartoons with me. He-Man,Voltron, and Hong Kong Phooey."

The song "Sugarcane" by The Space Monkeys mentions the side-effect of drugs as being "Quicker than the human eye or Hong Kong Phooey."

The song "Old School" by Danger Doom, features a few classic cartoon mentions. One of these is a mention of Phooey by rapper MF Doom in the line "Ooh Wee, like a Hong Kong Phooey Kick," reminiscing about his childhood.[6]

The short children's novel Hong Kong Phooey and The Fortune Cookie Caper by Jean Lewis, illustrated by Phil Ostapczuk, was published in 1975 by Rand McNally and Company, as well as Hong Kong Phooey and the Bird Nest Snatchers (1976).

In January 2015, a street artceramicmosaic of Hong Kong Phooey sold at a Sotheby's auction for HK$2 million. The copy sold was a re-creation by the artist Invader after the original was removed from a city wall by Hong Kong authorities.[7]